The Black-chinned Sparrow is locally common
in the arid brushlands of the Southwest and in parts of California
occasionally to southern Oregon; it ranges southward into
central and southern interior Mexico.
An inconspicuous
bird, it frequents cover offered by shrubbery, where it forages
low in the brush for seeds and insects.

The Black-chinned Sparrow ranges from sea level
to 8,800 feet, and is found in gently to steeply sloped topography, where
moderately dense brush is broken by rocky outcrops and occasional
larger shrubs and trees. In southern California it is often
abundant in chaparral. In winter the northern migratory populations
move from chaparral and sagebrush habitat to lower elevation
desert scrub to the south.

Analysis of Breeding Bird Survey
data shows significant recent declines in California,
although the species may be expanding northward from the central
and northern part of the state and in New Mexico; it is apparently stable elsewhere. Its expansion into southern Oregon, noted only
since the middle of the 20th century, may simply reflect
more observers in the field. Population fluctuations of
the bird may be determined in part by climatic change and
variables in the weather, with peak numbers reached following
wet winters.

Threats include overgrazing, mining
and the use of trail bikes and other ATVs, all of which degrade
its habitat and depress its numbers. Eliminating overgrazing
in winter grasslands would benefit the Black-chinned Sparrow, as would habitat
preservation in areas where human activity is impacting
foothill chaparral.